A local single-node cluster in around one minute
podplane local start creates a complete single-node cluster in a local QEMU VM.
Once dependencies are cached, it is designed to get from a stopped VM to a usable Kubernetes environment in around one minute.
podplane local startThe command downloads missing dependencies, starts the VM, waits for Netsy and the Kubernetes API, writes a kubeconfig context, and prints an example application deployment.
The default cluster includes the same core architecture used in production: containerd, kubelet, Netsy, Nstance agent, platform components, deployment templates, and a local registry. It’s design to use to same configuration as a production VM for environment parity, to give you greater confidence in your tests.
Local clusters are for development and testing, not production. They use one VM, a fixed local test identity, and local files for durable data.
Use --cpus and --memory to adjust resources, and use named cluster IDs when you need more than one environment.
Podplane runs a local background server which provides local-only implementations of the external services a cluster needs, including OIDC, S3-compatible object storage storage, OpenBao-compatible secrets backend, and Nstance server for VM registration and certificate issuance. This keeps the local VM self-contained while using the same APIs/interfaces as a VM deployed in production.